The terms of public service are the prerogative of the public. Fundamental among those terms; public servants are accountable to the public, and to meaningful standards of conduct and competence, at least for the eight measly hours a day that we have to "trust" them with the control over our power and our resources.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

In the Journal this morning, link, Jon Swedien reports on the struggle for public records, going on between the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, and former FOG President and Director Marty Esquivel and his team of taxpayer underwritten litigators.

The Journal goes regularly to APS school board member Marty Esquivel and allowed him to complain this morning that;

“FOG is operating on a dearth of facts. It’s unfortunate that they would make inflammatory comments without knowing all the facts.”

The disingenuous part;
Esquivel is the person most responsible for that dearth.
He is the one hiding the facts; hiding as many as he likes
and "the law" will allow.

The ends on the continuum of public record and fact sharing are;

share as many facts as the law will allow, as opposed to

share only those facts that that law absolutely requires.

Though Esquivel is one of the senior-most role models of standards of conduct that specifically require doing more than the law requires and less than the law allows, Esquivel is firmly of the opinion, the truth is his to parse.

If you think you can pry it lose from him and his lawyers,
go right ahead. He will stop or obstruct you will unlimited access to all the lawyers guns and money anybody could ask for.

Esquivel will never tell you why he needs to hide the truth,
only how he is able to hide the truth;

inadequate oversight,

an unlimited budget for

legal weaselry and

friends at the Journal.

Swedien did not report that the FOG and Esquivel are about to lock horns again over Esquivel and APS/Modrall lawyer Art Melendres' rules for public participation in school board meetings.

They are manifestly unconstitutional as will ultimately be determined after expensive and prolonged litigation against the public interests, that settle with no admissionsof guilt.

FOG is tardy in their response the request that
they take a position on the Esquivel, Melendres/Modrall policy and procedural directive.